Pierre likes Pleats!

Sooo I haven't posted in while and I am sure my 3 followers on my blog are so upset:)

Lately, I have been obsessed with this photo I found of Pierre Cardin coats from the 1980's. Love the crazy pleats! And to think, this is my first post with PLEATS!

If I could only get my hands on the coat in the far right.... Pierre Cardin's designs are very geometric and have a futuristic, out of this world feel.

Here are a few more photos of some of his work from the 1960's MOD era...

Love the crazy hats!

If you are feeling the 1960's, also go and see Pirate Radio at the movies! Best film I have seen in a long, long time. I thought the costumes and colors in each scene were spot on. The cast is amazing, and if you love Rock 'n Roll, it is a must! Check it out!

Even if it is just to see Bill Nighy dance:)

For Meatlovers Only!

So lately my blog should be called the "Eating Press" because food has been the focus and with Thanksgiving two days away, be prepared for food, food, and more food.

I need to post a Warning: Anyone that is a vegetarian, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

On Saturday night, we all went out to celebrate my friend John's B-day! He had invited everyone out to Fette Sau in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fette Sau means Fat Pig in German....and if I know anything about German cuisine, it means meat and beer. Fette Sau specializes in smoked meats and specialty beers by the Gallon. So if meat and beer are your thing, this is the place for you. Be prepared to wait in line though. Fette Sau's serves their meats by the pound on large serving platters. So grab a beer, join the line and take in the smokehouse aroma as you wait to order. I definitely liked the Beef Brisket and Berkshire Sausage. Check out our tray before it was devoured...

OOO and the pickles and baked beans are good too!

Here's a shot of the gallon jug of beer Matt got!...of course he shared with everyone.

It took us a white to finish the gallon, I gave up on the beer and needed some caffeine. I ordered what I thought was an espresso, but it was espresso flavored soda- Manhattan's Special. It was interesting, but I don't know if it gave me the energy boost I needed.

It was a fun night full of meat meat, beer, beer, and oh yeah more meat:) Now I am ready for Turkey!

JACK'S

So last night my friend Steph and I went to this new restaurant called Jack's Bistro on 11th st. and University Place. Amazing food!!! Monday Night was All-You-Can-Eat Mussels...which I ended up eating two bowls. The kicker is that when you order a Entree or an item from the Lighter Side Menu---for $5 more you can add a small salad and dessert dollop?!? You may ask...what's a dessert dollop.....well, for those of you who like to steal bites of other people's desserts, you can now order a dollop of dessert for a lesser price. See pics and dessert dollop menu below:)

Pretty:)

My delicious mesclun salad

My 2nd bowl of mussels

The Dessert Dollops Menu...YUM!

Steph had the Mini Double-Chocolate Pot du Creme....so CUTE!

My dollop was a little bigger than the average dollop:) I had the Pop 'em which was to die for, if you have a sweet tooth!

Definitely was a nice end to a Monday:) I have to go back and try their lemon ricotta pancakes during their weekend brunch! Can't wait....

My Bow Necklace

So this post is long overdue... I finally made my bow necklace. I went to M&J Trimmings here in NYC to find some nice ribbon. Originally, I wanted a navy ribbon with white swiss dots. However, I could not find anything close. So I opted for my two favorite colors this fall--black and chartreuse. I got silk ribbons which are a little more expensive but drape and tie beautifully.

The first step is to cut the tails of the bow. These are around 3.5 to 4 inches long in length. Cut the top of the tails off at an angle so the tails will angle outward when you secure the tails to the chain for the necklace. Each tail should be a mirror image of the other. So if you are using a ribbon with different print on the front than the back, remember to cut the angle appropriately for each tail.

Then fold over the angled end of the tail twice and press with an iron. This will be the casing that the chain with lay in. Do this for both pieces I used pins to hold fold while I pressed it with an iron.

Then, lay the chain under each fold and arranged tails so that they meet in the middle with a little overlap. Hand stitched the casings closed on the back side using small stitches. Tails should look as below secured to chain of necklace.

The next step is to create the bow that will lay on top of the tails. I used the wider black ribbon and a chartreuse color ribbon half the width. Here, instead of tying a real bow, make a fake bow--Laying two loops of ribbon, wider layer (black in back) and thinner ribbon (chartreuse on top). Secure each of the loops together by overlapping the ends and hand stitching them together. This over lap should lay on the back side of each loop in the center. To secure the loops together and create a center knot to the bow, wrap both loops at their centers in the thinner ribbon. This will cause the loops to gather on each side and form a pretty bow. Hand stitch the ends of the "center knot" together on the back side.

Now, stitch the backside of the bow at the center not to the top of the tails where they overlap. Make sure when stitching bow here to go thru multiple layers of center knot with the needle so that bow is secure to tails. Then stitch each bow loop on back side to tails so that bow loops do not droop when the necklace is worn. Try the necklace on to see if the bow needs any additional tacks to secure it and make it drape appropriately so you get the desired look you want. See my end product:) Luv it!

Here is a picture I attempted to take of myself wearing it, using my blackberry and a mirror.



Here is another image of it on my dressform with a cool felt hat I got from Forever 21 last year. Now all I need are some long satin gloves...very Audrey Hepburn:)



Definitely a fun project, especially if you are looking for a cool way to accessorize a casual T-shirt or a little cocktail dress. This works for both.

Let me know if you decide to make your own bow necklace!

My Halloween Weekend!

Sooo here are my pics of my festive Halloween Weekend.

First off I convinced my boyfriend Matt to make Witch Cupcakes with me:) I got the idea from FoodNetwork.com....but I took a few short-cuts due to time and the fact that I lacked the confidence to think I could actually make these crazy cup-cakes.

Change #1: I bought a box cupcake mix and frosting instead of making it from scratch, saved time and money! Warning: Be careful opening the bottle of green food coloring. I turned my fingers into the green monster. Too bad I wasn't dressing as that for Halloween.

Change #2: Instead of cutting a cone shape out of the center of the cupcake, I bought chocolate kisses to use as the cone-shaped part of the hat. I thought I might break the cupcake trying to dissect it since I am not a surgeon.

Change #3: I couldn't find all the little candies to decorate the cupcakes so for the nose I used a candy corn, for the eyes we had some baby smarties Matt had brought back from London, and for the ugly warts, I bought some of that black gel frosting in the little tube. Worked out great. The warts really added to the full effect!

Lastly, for the hats, I had Matt make them....which surprisingly, he did a great job. For the brim of the hat, we used the choco wafer cookies as instructed, put a small scoop of green frosting and added the kiss on top. You can add sprinkles if you want, but we chose not to.

Making the cupcakes was pretty fun, I only managed to swear like 5 times, and 3 of those times were when I dumped green food coloring all over my hands! Definitely have to complain to the food color manufacturers about the faulty leaky bottle:P

The Finished Product!

The Army of Witches!

Lastly, I thought I would share a pic of Matt aka Charlie Brown and I aka Lucy at our friend Julie's Party! We had a fun night....Matt looks thrilled to be Charlie Brown:).

Now it's November already! Time flies!

Until the next post,

Laura

It's the Great Pumpkin!

So tonight I made it home in time to just catch the annual showing of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" on ABC. I love all of the Charlie Brown Specials. They make me feel like I am a little kid again.

This year I have yet to get into the Halloween Spirit, not to mention carve a pumpkin. Although after watching Charlie Brown tonight, I have been inspired for a costume idea which I need to throw together for a friend's party on Saturday night. I definitely have a little Lucy in me, so I am thinking of going as her and forcing my boyfriend Matt to go as Charlie Brown:) Now I just need to perfect Lucy's 2-D hair style...

DIY Bow Necklace

I think this could be my next DIY project this weekend. I'll have to hunt down some amazing swiss-dot satin. Maybe a navy color with white dots on a gold chain... Any suggestions?

Cloches I Covet....1st Blog for the Pleat & Press

So this is my first official blog. I don't know if anyone will end up reading it:) But at least, if anything else, it will help keep record of all the little things I adore and love.

This post is maybe due to the recent change in weather causing my ears to freeze but... I LOVE CLOCHE HATS! That 1920's flapper style hat is cute on anyone. I have a little red wool one I get compliments on all the time. It's such a comfy snug fitting hat that definitely keeps my ears warm. Mine is from the San Diego Hat Company.

In my search for cool cloches, the white Leather Dior goes beyond "COOL." With the attention centered on the metal eyelets, it is very eye-catching. Can you imagine your ruby red lips popping in that hat?

I am an Etsy addict so to top it off I pulled the bottom 3 hats from my "favorites" folder on Etsy. The crocheted lavender and lemon cloche is from MelsBellsClocheHats. The red flower is removable. So it is what my friend RandiLee would like to call a two-fer....two in one! We love our two-fers!

Lastly are the two hats I am obsessed with. These are by Behida Dolic. She is based in Oakland, CA and also sells on Esty. You should definitely check out her shop. I love the color pop of cobalt in the bottom right style. The navy cloche with the pearls is definitely meant for Louise Brooks!

I hope you enjoy the cloches I want to covet!